Wood-pole roof



Sept. 18, 1934. Q w sl- 1,973,861

WOOD POLE ROOF Filed May 15, 1933 INVENTOR W K UE Patented Sept. 18, 1934 STATES PATENT 0FF1E 3 Claims.

This invention relates to means for waterproofing the tops of wood poles, such as are now in general use for supporting overhead electrical conductors, and has for its principal object the provision of an effective and inexpensive roof for this purpose.

It is now well known that wood preservatives are more or less soluble in water, and that the presence of moisture is one of the necessities for the life of wood-decaying fungi. The exposed section of the pole top is subject to weather checking, and the openings thus formed become progressively larger due to the accumulation of water therein and its subsequent freezing and thawing. It is an object of this invention to provide a waterproof covering for the pole-top to prevent the growth of season checks, and also to prevent the entrance of moisture into the pole through such checks.

Since poles commercially available have tops difiering widely in both size and shape, it is an object of this invention to provide a roof adapted to rigidly attach to the upper end of poles which is independent, within certain limits, of the size and shape of the top.

A further object is to provide a means for covering the openings necessary for the insertion of fasteners, such as nails or screws, in order to prevent the entrance of moisture into any checks which may be caused by the use of such fasteners,

changes as come within thescope of the claims -may be made in the embodiments herein disclosed.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a pole top with the roof attached.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of a pole top with the roof attached, this view differing from Figure 1 in that the pole top has been cut in a different manner.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the roof illustrated in Figure 2, shown before being fitted to a pole.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the roof illustrated in Figure 3, taken from the plane indicated by the line aa.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing,

and in particular to Figures 1 and 2, which show the roof as attached to a wood pole 20, it will be seen that the roof here illustrated is an integral sheet metal structure comprising a body portion 18, of substantially the size of the top of the pole 20 a pair of downwardly extending portions 22, each of the latter being provided an up-struck i portion 1a to provide an opening for a fastener 15. The roof is provided with a furrow or other suitable means for weakening the body portion 18 along a line 23, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

The purpose of the furrow 23 is to provide means for tearing the sheet metal of the body portion for the required distance to adapt the roof to poles differing in diameter at the top, whereby the roof may be attached without bending the top portion out of shape, thus avoiding the use of cutting tools otherwise necessary in applying the roofs.

The cut and bent portions 14 serve at the same time to (1) prevent entrance of moisture to the pole through a check which might be caused by 17 of the roof may be provided to prevent the entrance of water at the upper portions of the pole top.

While the types of roofs here illustrated may be satisfactorily made of a number of different metals or their alloys, I prefer to use a very thin gauge of some non-rusting metal, such as copper or aluminum. I have found No. 26 gauge copper in sheets an effective and inexpensive material for this purpose.

Since the pole roofs here illustrated may be used on poles carrying high voltage conductors, they may act as one plate of a condenser, thus causing small discharge currents to flow in the circuit thus formed, resulting in undesirable radio interference. In addition, a lightning stroke terminating on the roof would cause a flow of current through the fasteners 15 into the pole, probably damaging the pole by splitting or splintering it. For this reason, I provide the ground terminals 11 in Figure 1, and 19 in Figure 2, to which the ground wires 16 and 21 are respectively connected.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A sheet metal roof for a wooden pole comprising a body portion substantially conforming to the shape of but larger than the top to be covered, and a plurality of outwardly extending integral portions for attaching the roof to the pole, the said body portion having lines of weakened section extending therein from the juncture of the sides of said outwardly extending portions and the said body portion, whereby the metal may be torn along said lines of weakened section to adapt the roof for poles differing in diameter.

2. A sheet metal roof for a wooden pole comprising a body portion substantially conforming to the shape of the roof to be covered, a plurality of outwardly extending integral portions adapted for attaching to the sides of the pole for securing the roof thereon, the said outwardly extending portions having an integral portion thereof cut and bent toward the top of the pole to be covered, whereby the opening thus provided for inserting a fastener through the outwardly extending portions into the said pole may be substantially covered.

3. A sheet metal roof for a wooden pole comprising a body portion substantially conforming to the shape of but larger than the top to be covered, a plurality of outwardly extending integral portions for attaching the roof to the pole, and lines of weakened section extending inwardly from the junction of the sides of said outwardly extending portions and the said body portion, the said outwardly extending portions having an integral portion thereof cut and bent toward the top of the pole to be covered, whereby an opening is provided for inserting a fastener which may be subsequently substantially covered by bending down the said integral cut and bent portion.

CARROLL H. WALSH. 

